Rangers United: Agents of Grid Battleforce
by Blue Legends
Summary: A single team was always going to be outmatched against legions of monsters. After losing the Dino Thunder team to an unexpected threat, Tommy Oliver unites all rangers under one banner to form the Grid Battleforce. My take on Megaforce/Super Megaforce incorporating elements from the Hexagon concept.


It was surprising how mysteriously life works. Everything changes so quickly. One can go from being the happiest person in the world to losing everything within seconds and vice versa. Change is inevitable and all we can do is keep up with the changes life throws at us and keep on living ... Nothing is permanent and even though bad things happen, it doesn't mean that they'd last. Happiness is transient but so is sadness.

Tommy Oliver knew all this. He was no stranger to loss. But he'd lost his wife, his former students- who he'd come to care for as his own children and Reefside, the city that had become his home in the last few years. He failed to save them.

He survived while the people he loved had died. Why did everything bad always happen to him ?

From being chosen by Rita to be her brainwashed champion all those years ago to the War of Reefside, his life had been a rollercoaster of unbelievable events. No normal person deserved to live like this. No matter how many times he tried, he just couldn't leave the life of a hero. It was as they said, _once a ranger, always a ranger... _

He smiled bitterly, as he took another shot of whiskey. It didn't dull the pain, but it'd give him a killer hangover... one that'd finally allow him to sleep without nightmares.

"You do know that it's not good for your health to drink." He briefly registered someone sitting next to him.

He turned around to see a woman in a formfitting black leather suit. She had cropped blond hair and seemed vaguely familiar. A locket hung around her neck. He'd definitely seen that before.

"You are here, same as me."

"Yeah, but I'm not here for the drinks. I'm here to talk to you, Tommy."

His eyes narrowed. According to official records, he was dead. Nobody except a few select people in the ranger community knew that he was alive.

"Who the hell are you ? And how do you know me ?"

"Relax Tommy." She said calmly. "You know who I am. We've met before."

He looked at her closely. It was obvious that she was former ranger or atleast someone linked to them. Her eyes though...

It clicked instantly.

"You look different without the purple hair, Astronema."

"I go by Karone now. Funny I thought you knew that. After all you did do extensive research on all of us to make your ranger documentary." She drawled.

"Being back from the dead leaves you with quite a few blank spots, _Karone_." He snapped. "And why are you here ?"

"A great evil is on it's way here. The Armada. It's bigger than anything Earth has ever faced and we need to be ready." She said gravely.

"What's that got to do with me ? Didn't you get the memo... I'm retired. I don't want anything to do with -"

"Damn it ! It's bigger than you, Oliver. And you're the only person who can help us." Karone banged her fist on the table. The bartender glared at her.

"Go to your brother. Being a ranger has brought nothing but pain to me. And I'm miserable enough as it is." He turned away from her and motioned for the bartender to give another drink.

"Andros is on Ko-35, trying to hold the Armada back and buy us some time. We have estimated that we can get a year before they come here."

"If I were you, I'd leave it to the newbies who'd pop up to save us-" He said, lifting the glass.

"They'd die." She said simply. "And everything we've fought for till now would be in vain. All of our sacrifices over the years would be for nothing."

"Why me ? There are plenty of others willing to step back into the fight." He swallowed the alcohol in one gulp.

"For one, you have a very colourful wardrobe. You've been chosen by the grid more times than any other ranger. There is a reason for that. You can't escape your destiny."

"Destiny ? I was supposed to save them. They died and I survived. Do you have any idea how that feels ?" He shouted at her.

"Maybe there's a reason you survived. Your destiny is to lead us all to defeat the Armada. I'm working with your Earth's government and Promethea to create a new organisation. For years, ranger teams have been outmatched by armies of malevolent forces with very less support. For us to win against the Armada, the situation needs to change. We need to have equal footing."

"Is that all ? You want an army of rangers." Tommy asked incredulously.

"Put simply, yes. But Earth needs to be ready for the coming threats. Evil will always be after the planet and there needs to be someone always present to fight back against them regardless of whether some team randomly shows up or not."

"Shouldn't you have a little more faith in destiny ?" Tommy asked sarcastically.

"Destiny is what we make of our lives. It's in our own hands. Don't you think that your team could have had a better chance of surviving if there were others to back them up ?"

"Don't go there." He warned.

"I'm not. You've the chance to make sure nothing like that ever happens again." Karone stated. "Please. We need a leader. We need you. So instead of wallowing in self pity and survivors' guilt, maybe you can come with me and save the world your students gave up their lives to protect."

"Hard pass." He ignored her and took another drink.

"I'm disappointed. I kind of expected more from the legendary Tommy Oliver. Newsflash Tommy, all of us have lost something to the fight. I lost my childhood, innocence and my fiancé to the war. If things work out, we'll be able to stop it forever. No more fighting. No more losses." She looked down and took out a communicator from her back pocket.

She placed it on the counter. "If you ever change your mind, you can contact me with this."

He didn't even nod. Karone sighed, getting up and walking towards the exit.

As she left, Tommy took the communicator and strapped it around his wrist. It'd been a while before he'd worn one of those. Not that he'd ever use it.

But still... It wasn't as if he'd anything else to do. He'd already lost everything that mattered.

Why must he be the one who always has to be on the frontlines ?

Tommy growled. Whatever Karone said did affect him. True, the kids were gone but he could still save what they gave up their lives for.

He knew he was going to regret this later on but Tommy Oliver also knew he wouldn't be able to live with himself if he allowed the planet to fall simply because he was too depressed to do anything about it...

He raced across the bar, hurrying after the Kerovian.

"Hey wait up !" He shouted, panting as he exited the bar and immediately felt chilling cold wind against his face.

He bit back a curse. It was a December night in Angel Grove... Of course, it was supposed to be cold.

Karone stopped and turned back towards him.

"I had a hunch you'd come." She smiled.

"Well you're right and I need something to do since I'm not in the right headspace to be a teacher again." He asked.

"Take my hand. We're going to the headquarters. Thank you. I know it's not easy -"

"But it's the right thing to do." Tommy completed, accepting her hand, feeling the familiar feeling of teleportation wash over him.

* * *

"Where are we ?" He asked, opening his eyes.

"No way !" He'd recognise this place anywhere. They stood outside the Command Centre, which appeared to be completely rebuilt.

"We were working on it for months. You'll find that it's better than before." Karone informed. "It made sense to make our headquarters here. After all, this is where everything started."

She walked up to the giant doors, and held up her hand. A laser scanned her.

"Karone of Ko-35. Authorisation granted." The doors opened and she passed through it. Tommy tried to follow only to be stopped by an invisible forcefield.

"Wait for it." Karone said.

Another laser shot out of the centre and ran through his entire body.

"Tommy Oliver of Earth. Authorisation granted."

The forcefield disappeared, allowing him to enter, just before the doors snapped shut.

"What was that ?"

"Security measures. The bioscans of all rangers and Promethea soldiers have been updated into the Command Centre's mainframe so that only they can enter or teleport into the building."

"That's interesting." He murmured, seeing people running all around. There were multiple floors and stairways. A giant time warp stood in the centre of the hall. "It sure looks different."

"Tommy, it's nice to see you again." His eyes snapped open, seeing an elderly woman in red pantsuit walk towards him.

"Grace ?"

The longtime ally of the rangers smiled. "Yes. Who else do you think is the mastermind behind all this ?"

"I thought you were in Mirinoi." He stated, hugging her.

"I was, but I needed to supervise all this. I'll be heading back soon though."

"Why ? Surely you are the better person to handle this operation."

"Maybe but I'm too old for this, Tommy. This place needs a fresh perspective. You're perfect for this job." She stated.

"And what exactly is this job ?"

"Basically do what you have been doing for the last decade but as a public figure. Be the new Zordon. Train our recruits to be rangers and maintain diplomatic relations with the governments of Earth and the Council of Worlds. Easy peasy."

"Is that all ?" Tommy asked dryly.

"Relax. You have help. You need to get all the rangers together before the Armada reaches our solar system."

"Who is this Armada exactly ?"

"It's better if we show you." Karone said, touching his forehead and pictures flashed through his head... Several extraterrestrial ranger teams fighting against grey footsoldiers and some of his mentors perishing at the hands of a cloaked figure.

"No way !" He paled. "That can't be possible."

"It is. We're over our heads this time. The only thing working in our favour is that the Order of Meledon sacrificed their lives to destroy their spaceships and long range teleporters. But that has only slowed them down." Grace informed. "Ninjor, Lerigot, Dimitria... All of them are gone."

"When ?" He asked.

"Last year, while you were gone. They tried to create teleportation gates in multiple planets." She replied. "The astro and the galaxy rangers stopped them while the Order took the offensive straight to their home planet and destroyed their ships and technology, slowing them down by a few years. Our spies have reported that they are on the move again. We must be ready when they arrive or all will be lost."

"Where do we start ?" Tommy asked immediately.

"While you gather former rangers, we need an active ranger team to hold off any active threats the Armada sends our way. And that team will be mentored by the only person who survived the raid on their homeworld."

The time warp glowed in a golden light, as the Sentinel Knight appeared in it, his armour dusty and cracked at various places.

"He's alive !" Tommy gasped.

"Barely." Grace said as the Sentinel Knight's eyes flashed white.

"Tommy Oliver, it's a pleasure to meet you again. I only wish it was under better circumstances."

"Who did this to you ?" he asked.

"The emperor, Mavro. He destroyed my companions. I survived only due to my link to the Corona Aurora. I managed to weaken his powers but I'm afraid he survives. You must be ready."

"Very well." Tommy nodded. "I'm glad you're here to help me through all this. Zordon spoke highly of you, Sentinel Knight."

"He was my mentor just like he was yours. During the battle of Eltar, he told me about his chosen. He would have been proud of all of you and he lives on in you."

The three former rangers nodded wryly. All of them knew Zordon never expected them to be rangers throughout their lives but after all they'd been through, it's impossible to slip back to normalcy.

"Come with me. Let me show you your new office." Grace led him to one of the rooms.

"My office ?"

"Yes. Your office as the Director of the Grid Battleforce." Grace stated.

"Director ?" Tommy asked. "Grace, I haven't done anything like this before."

"Tommy, you have led rangers to war countless time. This isn't anything different except the paperwork but you'll be able to manage that."

"Okay. It's still a little unnerving." Tommy said, massaging his forehead.

"You are not alone in this, Tommy. We are all working for a better future. Back on Mirinoi, I am working on developing a way to harness the energy from the Grid to replace fossil fuels. If this works, we won't have to worry about wasting resources ever again. Unlimited eco-friendly energy." She smiled. "The job of the GBF would be to protect my research while supplying rangers with new innovative technology."

"That's good. It's nice to have something to look forward to." The veteran ranger noted, as he started a new chapter in his life.

* * *

**AUTHOR'S NOTES**

This story is set in Earth-1 of my Powerplay series. Most of the PR events are canon up to this point. This story will be a rewrite of Megaforce and Super Megaforce with much more involvement of former rangers.

A major difference from the show is that a few years ago, Reefside was destroyed by a powerful enemy and the Dino Thunder rangers and Kimberly Hart died, trying to protect the city. The only survivor of the attack was Tommy, who mysteriously reappeared after an year, with no idea of how he survived.


End file.
